Director and Architect Sven Thorissen (Krefeld, DE – 1970), currently oversees MVRDV’s Das Studio, explicitly focused on growing the office’s profile and portfolio in Germany. Thorissen returned to MVRDV in early 2019 after a 12 year-hiatus, a considerable period of which he was working as Concept Developer for Proper Stok and Strategic Advisor Spatial Development, Economy and Sustainability for the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn. He leverages this broad range of experience with private and public organizations, across architectural design, project development, and sustainability in his studio leadership.

Projects that benefit from this insight include Benjamin Franklin Mannheim, Andreas Quartier Berlin, KoolKiel, Candidtor München, B8 Center Düsseldorf and EXPO Hannover, as well as those previously undertaken as a Project Leader for MVRDV between 2000-07: Unterföhring Park Village (2003), Frøsilo in Copenhagen (2005), Parkrand in Amsterdam (2006) and the Markthal (2014) in Rotterdam.

Thorissen’s academic background is reflective of this same adventurous versatility, having studied architecture at the TU Braunschweig, ETH Zurich, and the Technical University Delft, where he received his master’s degree in architecture. Aside from his work at MVRDV, he is visiting critic at the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture, the ENSA Belleville, Paris, and the University of Applied Sciences in Leiden, and regularly contributes to a number of publications concerning inclusive city design, future housing, the circular economy, and productive urban landscapes.

“MVRDV is one of the most intriguing architectural practices globally: projects covering all imaginable scales, collaborating with the world’s brightest people, always pushing boundaries and exploring new possibilities.” - Sven Thorissen